Restoring cultural relics: Starting with the crying Tang Dynasty figurines

It's not very clear, but you can make out a human figure walking from left to right in the frame. It stopped in the middle of the frame for a few seconds, and then walked out of the frame.

At 03:26, the snowflakes stopped, and the screen went completely black.

Su Yuan stared intently at the shadow, trying to get a better look: "Director... could you zoom in a bit?"

Zhang Weiyi clicked the mouse twice to zoom in on the image, but it became even blurrier, all pixelated!

"That's all?"

"That's all." Zhang Weiyi shut down the computer. "Zhao Cheng came to see it. He said the place where the shadow lingered smelled."

"What does it taste like?"

"Rusty and earthy."

Su Yuan was puzzled. How come it was the same as the one on him? He remembered what Zhao Cheng had said.

Where is Zhao Cheng?

"We just set off for Yongle Palace," Zhang Weiyi said. "We said we were going to check if the gap had been sealed off."

There was no reason for the crack in the fissure that Su Yuan had personally sealed to reappear. He could only wonder to himself, and said:

"Director, I have a question for you."

Zhang Weiyi turned to look at him.

"Do you know who that person who fostered the discord is?"

Zhang Weiyi didn't answer; he took out a cigarette from the drawer and lit it.

"I know, but I can't say."

Su Yuan said, and Zhang Weiyi flicked the cigarette ash into the jar.

"Zhao Huaishan also investigated back then, and after two years he found out, but he didn't tell anyone."

Why?

"Because saying it won't do any good." Zhang Weiyi looked at him: "That person can't be moved!"

Su Yuan's mind went blank:

What do you mean by "unable to move"?

"He has connections... Zhao Huaishan spoke with that person once before he went to Fengxi. Nobody knows what they talked about, and he didn't say either."

"After we finished talking...you know what happened next."

"Director, is that person still in the unit? Right, or perhaps someone in a higher-up position?"

Zhang Weiyi pushed the ashtray aside: "Xiao Su, there are some things you'd better not know right now."

"Then, when will I find out?"

Zhang Weiyi, staring at the computer, didn't reply and changed the subject:

"I'll investigate the matter of that sword. You should go back now."

Su Yuan stood still, wanting to ask more questions, but Zhang Weiyi glared at him and emphasized his tone:

"go back!"

Su Yuan left silently. Old Wu and Xiao Chen were no longer at the warehouse entrance, and they were not seen when he went downstairs. The only things on the bench were Old Wu's thermos and newspaper.

Lin Xi arrived, smiling at him. His face flushed, and he panicked. "Um... thank you for yesterday's breakfast..."

Lin Xi chuckled: "Look how scared you were! Don't be so polite. The important thing is that you're back safe and sound!"

Su Yuan felt a slight tingling sensation all over his body.

"Are you going back to your dorm? Go ahead, I need to get Director Zhang's signature..."

Seeing Su Yuan's uneasy appearance, Lin Xi stopped teasing him. Su Yuan nodded and left the office.

The strong winds outside lasted quite a while this morning, but it was very quiet today. The reflections in the bronze mirror seemed to know that Su Yuan had something on his mind, and they didn't come out to chatter.

After lunch, Su Yuan wasn't assigned anything, so he went straight to his dormitory, where Zhao Cheng was already waiting for him downstairs!

Seeing Su Yuan approach, he handed Su Yuan a yellow, folded triangle symbol:

"This was given to you by the Pure Yang Immortal of Yongle Palace; you'll need it tomorrow!"

Su Yuan didn't ask him why, or how he could communicate with Chunyang Zhenren. It looked the same as the previous one, but the words on it were different.

After sealing the gap, I came back and looked at it. It was the character "protect". Zhao Cheng's father left Zhang Weiyi the character "peace". This one is the character "return".

Su Yuan folded the talisman again and asked:

"How's Yongle Palace over there?"

Zhao Cheng, unusually not with a stern face, smiled and said, "The rift is gone. This time, it should truly be sealed off by you."

"Where is the person who fostered the discord?"

Zhao Cheng paused for a moment without speaking, then Su Yuan asked again, "Do you also know who it is?"

Zhao Cheng glanced elsewhere: "I know."

"Who? Can you tell me?"

Zhao Cheng took out cigarettes from his pocket, offered the pack to Su Yuan, but Su Yuan didn't smoke one; he lit one for himself instead.

"Are you sure you want to know? But I can't tell you, and Director Zhang won't allow it either!"

Su Yuan really wanted to beat him up, but Zhao Cheng told him again:

"By the way, you don't need to look for that sword anymore! It will come back on its own in a couple of days."

"Huh? How did you know!"

Su Yuan suddenly looked at Zhao Cheng, but Zhao Cheng had already walked a few steps away. Su Yuan saw Zhao Cheng wave his hand but did not answer.

Su Yuan stood downstairs, a gust of wind billowing his clothes. He sighed, took out a bronze mirror from his pocket, and habitually glanced at himself.

—The little bright spot on the mirror is still there, and those little shadows are back!

A dozen or so people huddled in a corner, whispering amongst themselves, as if afraid Su Yuan would overhear them.

He smiled, put the mirror back in his pocket, and after returning to his dormitory, he took everything out of his pocket one by one.

A bronze mirror, bronze pieces, jade, and stone. Three talismans, and the key, were all laid out on the table.

After staring at these for a while, something occurred to him, and he picked up his phone from the bed and sent a WeChat message to his mother:

"Mom, did Dad mention before that anyone at his workplace treated him badly?"

After waiting two minutes without a reply, I sent another message:

"It's like they're deliberately making things difficult for him, targeting him specifically."

This time, his mother replied: "Your dad never used to talk about things or people at work, and he wouldn't say anything even after I asked him several times."

"Okay, Mom, it's alright now."

After replying to the call, Su Yuan put down his phone, lay on the bed, closed his eyes, and thought about some recent events.

The bronze mirror on the table was warm, and the shadows in it were whispering, but Su Yuan couldn't make out what they were saying.

Su Yuan didn't go to the cafeteria for dinner, but went to a noodle shop for a bowl of noodles. Still having nothing to do, he went back to his dormitory and stayed there, half asleep and half asleep all night.

At seven o'clock, he sat up in bed and packed everything on the table.

After going downstairs, the wind stopped, and it looked like it was going to rain again. When I arrived at the entrance of the company, I saw Qian Weidong's car parked there.

He was eating when he waved to Su Yuan: "This is Xiao Su. Director Zhang asked me to pick you up."

"Where to?"

"Yongle Palace! The toolbox is already in the car."

Su Yuan didn't ask any more questions and got into the car. Qian Weidong took out a bowl of soy milk and steamed buns and gave them to Su Yuan. He took the breakfast and started eating. Neither of them spoke again.

About an hour into the drive, Su Yuan finally spoke.

"Master Qian..."

"Um?"

"Do you know who took that sword made by Su Zhi?"

Qian Weidong looked at the road ahead and drove for a while before saying, "You'll know in a couple of days."

Su Yuan rubbed the empty breakfast bag without asking any more questions. He looked out the car window and saw that the sky was getting even darker, with low, heavy clouds that seemed to be holding back a downpour.

When they arrived at Yongle Palace, Qian Weidong parked the car at the entrance without getting out, and said to Su Yuan:

"I'll wait for you here. You'll have to handle this problem yourself."

Su Yuan nodded, picked up his toolbox, and got out of the car. Old Xu, dressed in gray cloth clothes, was standing at the door. He came up to Su Yuan as soon as he saw him.

"Master Su is here."

"Um."

"Please come inside quickly..."

Knowing Su Yuan's personality, the old Taoist priest didn't ask any more questions and led Su Yuan into the main hall.

Su Yuan had no idea what awaited him!